John Howards federal conservative government has abandoned plans to privatize the "iconic" Snowy Hydro:

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THE planned sale of Snowy Hydro is dead, after the federal, NSW and Victorian governments today all announced they would pull out of the privatisation process.

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Mr Howard conceded today he underestimated the public's feelings on the issue.

"For whatever combination of reasons, there is overwhelming feeling in the community that the Snowy is an icon. It's part of the great saga of post-World War II development in Australia," he said.

"It conjures many stories of tens of thousands of European migrants coming and blending with each other and in the process of working on the Snowy becoming part of this country. And people feel that.

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The project actually reversed the flow of the Snowy River away from the ocean inland for use in irrigation.